Ex-Laker Howard: I'm in a much better place

Nov. 4, 2013

Updated Nov. 5, 2013 8:26 a.m.

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Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard smiles before the start of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, in Salt Lake City. Howard, in Los Angeles to face the Clippers, renews acquaintances with the Lakers this week. RICK BOWMER, AP

Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard smiles before the start of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, in Salt Lake City. Howard, in Los Angeles to face the Clippers, renews acquaintances with the Lakers this week. RICK BOWMER, AP

LOS ANGELES – Dwight Howard walked through the hallways of Staples Center on Monday a different player. For starters, he is a Rocket, not a Laker, having snubbed tradition and legacy in Los Angeles for a fresh start and hefty payday in Houston.

Second, he is healthy. His back and leg pains are no longer issues. He said his surgically repaired back is 100 percent healed, unlike last season when he played through pain and criticism.

“Everything (is different),” Howard said. “I'm moving a lot better. I'm going to get balls that I couldn't get last season — rebounds, blocked shots, all that stuff is a lot different. I've been doing a lot of work in the offseason just to get my body back right. I feel a lot better.”

Even Rockets coach Kevin McHale acknowledged the change in the All-Star center. McHale said when Howard reported to the Rockets in July after signing an $88 million contract, he continued to have health-related problems.

“His health is 100 percent different," McHale said. “When we did a physical after we signed him, I sat down with our training staff and they were all like, ‘Oh boy.' He had a huge discrepancy in his strength in his right leg and his left leg. His glutes and his hamstrings were really weak and his flexibility was completely ... funky.

The proof is in the numbers. Through Sunday, Howard averaged 15 points and 17 rebounds as the Rockets started 3-0. The Lakers get their first look at Howard in a red-and-white jersey at Houston on Wednesday.

As a Laker last season, Howard scored 39 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in helping the Lakers to victory over his previous former team, Orlando. He was reluctant to compare the two games, however.

“This is a totally different situation,” Howard said. “I was in Orlando for eight years. That was my home. I grew up in Orlando and going back home was tough for me and tough for a lot of the fans there. The situation was completely different.”

Thousands of Lakers fans might not agree. The Internet continues to hiss with anti-Howard sentiment. Even Magic Johnson continues to feel stung by his departure, saying in a radio interview last week that Howard “couldn’t stomach L.A.”

Howard said he understands why Lakers fans burned his No. 12 jerseys and changed “Howard” to “Coward” on those they didn’t destroy after his departure.

“It wasn’t the best situation for anybody, but it is what it is,” Howard said. “I made a decision to move on with my life and I’m in a much better place than I was last season.

“I think I made the best decision for Dwight.”

Howard also acknowledged fans “can be passionate and, unfortunately, the Lakers have the most fans in the world, so I think it’s a tough thing to let go.

“The way the season went last year, I don’t think people really know what happened on the court or in the locker room. They just know what was being fed to them. And they made a decision based on that.

“But I’m sure if any of those people had to make a decision in front of the whole world, they wouldn’t know how to react, how to do it. It’s a tough decision to make, but I think I made the best decision for Dwight. I’m in a very good place.”

Howard said he will be forever “gracious and happy” to have had the opportunity to play for the Lakers, calling it “a learning lesson for myself and I think it helped me.

“I never tried to do anything to hurt these people in L.A., but I understand that they’re just passionate about their team,” he added. “I’ve never been a bad guy and I won’t be (one) ever. I’ll always be gracious and happy to have the opportunity to play for the Lakers.”

With the tumultuous last season behind him, Howard is focusing on the immediate future, which includes a championship.

“When we’re holding up the trophy (I want people to say), ‘Hey, he made a decision and look what happened,’ That’s what I want to do.”

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